Blog

What is a Genius? We ask students this all the time. Their responses are very simple at first, but once they dig in, they come up with some profound ideas. What happens when parents have this conversation with their children? Most recently a proud mom, Anne Schreiber,...

A friend of mine shared a story about a family tradition, where after her family opens their presents, they take inventory and determine which items they will most likely use, and which gifts may likely be less used. Upon reflection, each family member determines if a...

I had the pleasure and privilege of having dinner and conversation with the magnificent Art Costa and Benna Kallick; the brilliance behind the Habits of Mind movement. One of the first lessons I teach students is to create a "Dream Team" which I describe as a group of...

Every so often we get stuck. It is easy to lose perspective when we meet an obstacle. The daily grind can put limitations on our ability to make the connections necessary to make a leap forward toward success. Instead of getting frustrated, bored or irritated you can...

Technology transforms the world in which we live. It can make the impossible possible, and is the key to doing more with less. Yet many school leaders are apprehensive about bringing technology into their school. Those who fear technology don’t realize that it’s not...

Serendipity is the name given to those “happy accidents” we experience throughout life — finding a person, idea, or resource we didn’t expect, but greatly needed. These encounters enrich our lives with new experiences, connections, and insights. Using social media is...

As lifelong learners, our growth should never cease — least of all our growth in knowledge about ourselves. Without fully knowing ourselves, self-acceptance and change are all the more difficult. Self-awareness provides us with a system of checks and balances that...

I once stumbled across this Tweet from Matthew Goff. It read: “Rocks in our backpack lesson the invisible weight we carry when we forget we matter. #FoxHollowFlyers” This was a vivid visual reminder of what we do to ourselves when we don’t believe that we are enough....

Any regular reader of this blog knows how much I value good writing. My own personal statement begins “educator, author…” As I wrote in an article for the Huffington Post, I am an author not because of any particular skill or experience that I have, but rather because...

For many years, I have presented workshops for school and community leaders who are ready to embrace social media and explore the powerful ways new social technologies and platforms can be used in classrooms and schools. As I outlined, re-outlined and tweaked the...